Something There
by The-Wicked-Have-More-Fun
Summary: The story of Dilan, one of the Six Apprentices of Ansem who would be Xaldin, and Arlene, the tomboy archer who would someday become the sadistic Larxene. ::HAITUS::
1. I Hate Parties

_**I wrote this ages ago and, after a little editing, have decided to post it. c:**_

**_For thos of you who don't know, Dilan and Arlene are Xaldin and Larxene's Somebodies. They're one of my favorite pairings and when I started writing this as a one-shot I couldn't resist making a full story out of it._**

**_The Six Apprentices of Ansem belong to Disney/Square-Enix. Arlene is mine (sort of) and Myde belongs to my dear friend Kitty (sort of)._**

**_Enjoy and don't forget to review! _**

* * *

_I hate parties._ Dilan thought with a sour expression. Watching as Ansem the Wise's guests flittered about, drinking and gossiping to one another only served to ruffle his feathers further. The third apprentice had never really enjoyed large social events like this. Give him a glass of wine and a good book at home and he was content.

Standing beside him Even sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Braig is doing his pirate impression again…honestly, ever since that Heartless took his eye, he's acted like more of a buffoon." Behind them Ansem chuckled, laying a hand on Dilan's right shoulder and Even's left.

"Don't be unkind, Even. It's simply his way of coping with his loss and you must admit it's better than having him sulk around the laboratory all day, now isn't it?"

"At least if he'd sulk we wouldn't have to deal with 'Aargh, matey, where be the Bunsen burners?' all day." Even argued, his tone and expression indignant.

Their mentor laughed again, hearty and loud. "Well, as much as you don't find it funny, I believe your little roommate Myde has taken a shine to him." A young, impish laugh rang out from halfway across the room. The young sitar player Even had taken in was standing with Braig, laughing so hard tears were falling down his cheeks at the apprentice's terrible pirate jokes.

Even frowned and straightened his back, adjusting his rectangular glasses on his nose. "Excuse me." With a swish of his toffee-colored ponytail, he stormed off in Braig and Myde's direction.

"Now, Dilan," Ansem turned to his dark-haired apprentice, a warm smile on his friendly face. "Why don't you go and mingle? I hate to see you standing against the wall all by yourself. Go and have a drink or perhaps find a nice girl to dance with." He winked and gave the meteorologist a gentle shove into the crowd. Grumbling inwardly, Dilan did what he was told.

"It's high school all over again." He grumbled as he made his way into the crowd to "mingle".

* * *

"I can't believe you brought me to this stupid party. I didn't even want to come!" Arlene grumbled to her brother and sister as they made their way into the large castle that was housing the annual spring party of the renowned scientist and ruler of Radiant Garden, Ansem the Wise. It was the most social, and exclusive, event of the year in Radiant Garden. However, when summer came around, all of area was invited to a large garden party Ansem held annually.

"What are you taking about? You were begging to come last year." Her half-sister Genevieve scolded. As much as Arlene was short, blond and took after their mother, Genevieve was tall and exotic looking like her father, their mother's first husband. Her skin was naturally tan and her hair the color of dark chocolate. To the party she'd worn a dress she'd designed herself, dark emerald green velvet cut to mid-thigh with straps tying around to the back of her neck. She'd bought new shoes especially for the occasion (as she did for every occasion), black sling back heels that secretly Arlene would've loved to wear if her small feet could fit into them. With her full lips painted a deep red and perfectly done up, Genevieve could've easily passed for a model straight out of a fashion magazine.

"That was last year." Arlene shot back, folding her arms stubbornly across her diminutive chest. It was true that last year she'd bee insanely jealous when her siblings had gotten to go to the party and she hadn't, but that had been a long year ago. Now, she'd practically been shoved into a dress and heels then dragged out the door.

Genevieve's twin brother, Gabriel, rested a willowy hand on top of her head, mussing her dirty blond hair lightly. He was dressed impeccably in a tidy white suit with a pink silk tie. His dark bangs brushed his eyes when he smiled.

"Ohh, 'Lene, stop being such a brat. You're going to have a great time tonight and you know it." Gabriel was the spitting image of his sister with the same dark hair, tan skin and model form. He and Genevieve co-owned and operated a successful fashion boutique downtown.

Unlike her siblings, Arlene was short for her age of twenty years and more delicate looking than strong and lithe. Her hair was dirty blond, shoulder length with two long sections that framed her heart-shaped face and jutted out slightly from her pin straight hair. Unlike the twins, she had little interest in fashion. She was a tomboy despite their mother's frivolous attempts to get her into a dress. She preferred archery and other sports to sketching clothes or going to parties like this one.

Genevieve gave her a light shove in the back. "Stop acting like a five year old and move it."

Arlene huffed and dragged her feet to the large glass doors that led inside. The large central room was filled with fresh spring flower arrangements, filling the air with an almost sickeningly sweet aroma. Arlene nearly gagged as soon as she was inside, covering her nose and mouth with the back of her hand in disdain. "It smells like a funeral home in here!"

"Excuse _me_." A haughty voice huffed from above. The blond looked up, meeting a pair of piercing brown eyes glaring down at her.

"What?"

"I handmade almost all of these arrangements, _thank you very much_, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't compare my work to that of a funeral home!" A tall man dressed in a stylish tan sweater and black slacks was scolding her as if she were a ten year old. His feathery light brown hair, tinged lightly with pink, was pulled back into a low ponytail. Arlene recognized him at the flower shop guy, Lumaria something or other.

"I wasn't complaining about your precious arrangements." Arlene shot back, her green/blue eyes flashing angrily. "I said the room only smelled like a funeral home because of all the flowers are choking me." Lumaria seemed to take extreme offense to this and huffed loudly.

"Why you little-!"

"Lumaria!" A feminine voice cut in and the flower girl Aerith appeared at his side. She was clad in a simple red dress with her long auburn hair pulled back into its usual braid and tied back with a red ribbon. She smiled apologetically at the three siblings, her hand resting on Lumaria's arm. "How about you go get us some treats? I think I see ice cream over near the hydrangeas." She shooed him away, though Arlene could swear she felt his eyes burning into her.

Arlene wandered away as her siblings began contentedly chatting with Aerith. _This is just like high school all over again._ She thought miserably as she paused to take off her heels and kick them under the table.

* * *

Against the wall again, Dilan looked on in mild disdain at the party. People were pairing up now, more than likely tipsy, and had begun to sweep across the floor as they laughing and talked. Even had managed to rescue his little boyfriend from Braig's idiocy and it looked like the young musician had worn the senior apprentice down enough for a waltz. Myde had his head resting on Even's chest, dressed in a light brown suit that looked suspiciously like one Dilan had seen a few years ago on Even, though it was clearly cut down to fit the slimly built sitar player. Even, meanwhile, was looking exceedingly uncomfortable at the public display of affection. He kept lifting his head and looking around nervously while Myde seemed completely blissful.

Sharp blue eyes caught sight of the familiar tiny form of Ienzo being swept along by a tall dark-haired woman in a green dress. She was laughing and cooing down at him, most likely telling him how adorable he was. Poor Ienzo, being at least a head shorter than the dark-haired woman, had his face stuck in her ample chest. That seemed to happen a lot when the female population spotted Ansem's errand boy. Dilan couldn't help but smirk at the fact that largely built Aeleus, who was ironically Ienzo's closest friend among the apprentices, was following close behind the pair, more than likely worried for Ienzo's toes based on the height of his partner's heels.

"Genevieve is such a pedophile." The meteorologist grimaced at the voice suddenly beside him. He looked down to see a small blonde woman, half a dozen or so years younger than him, standing beside him with a sour expression of her face. She was dressed in a turquoise summer dress and, oddly enough, barefoot. Dilan arched an eyebrow at her, frowning slightly.

"Friend of yours?" He asked. She looked up and startled him with the most striking pair of eyes he'd ever seen. They were large and somehow cat-like in nature with bright green irises hued blue around the pupil. The effect was really quite shocking at first glance. Quite an attractive young woman, Dilan decided.

"My half sister." But that _voice_. It could've raise the dead screaming from their graves and make them run in front of a bus in order to die again just to get away from the noise. "I can't believe Gene and Gabe dragged me to this damn party. I hate things like this. Stuck up snobs flickering about, getting hammered and chitchatting about who's dating who and who got knocked up." She looked up at him again. "I'm Arlene, by the way. Arlene Todd."

Dilan slowly smiled. "Dilan Rosenburg." He held out his hand to her, which she ignored. "I have to say I agree with you, Miss Todd. I'm not one much for social events myself. Crowds have never quite been my specialty."

Arlene glanced up at him and smirked. "Really? Well then, I think we might have a thing or two to talk about." She motioned to the back doors that led to the patio outside. As the two walked away, a new scene had begun elsewhere.

"Well, well, looks like you really have fallen for the little sitar player, Dr. Marrs! Hahaha!"

"Oh, hey Lumaria! You kinda walked in at a bad time. Even's not one for PDA, so I thought we could sneak over here to the closet-"

"Why don't you go find a dead fern to nurse back to health?!"

"Ooooh, touché without lovey time, aren't we, Even?"

"GET OUT!"


	2. A bit of Bubbly

Once outside Dilan breathed a deep sigh of relief. It felt good to be out of the stifling smell of flowers and into the fresh air. "It smelled like a funeral home in there."

A light spring breeze whispered by and ruffled his thick poof of long curly black hair; tied back with a ribbon much like how Even kept his out of the way. He momentarily pondered whether he should get it styled somehow so it wouldn't poof into a borderline Afro when it was down. Maybe braids…

"Totally." Arlene brushed past his arm and took a seat at one of the glass patio tables set up around the area. From her place she had a full view of the large garden and hedge maze in back of the castle. "The flower guy had a complete bitch fit at me when I said that."

Dilan chuckled and followed in suit, taking the seat across from her. "Ah, you mean Lumaria. Yes, he's quite sensitive about his plants. Strange, strange man…"

"You're telling me. From the way he was glaring at me I'd probably be plant food right now if that Aerith girl hadn't come over and calmed him down." Arlene eyed one of the four filled champagne flutes in the center of the table. The other tables had identical sets ups. She reached out and took one, swigging down half of it in one gulp. Dilan took one himself and started to take a small sip. "Hey, you think something might be going on between those two?"

Dilan paused, holding his glass in mid-sip. The two stared at each other for a long moment before they muttered, in unison no less, "Naaaah." The apprentice went back to his drink as his cohort laughed, causing him to shutter slightly.

"So," Arlene twirled the flute stem between her fingers idly. "I take it you're one of Ansem's apprentices."

"How'd you guess?"

"The lab coat and the purple ascot kind of give it away."

Dilan laughed and grinned at her. Horrid as her voice might be, he was actually enjoying her company to an extent. She wasn't like some of the other higher-class women he'd met. She was smart, sharp as a whip, sarcastic and, to be honest, not too bad to look at either. "Yes, I'm one of his six apprentices. I work in meteorology and-"

"Yes, yes, fascinating." Arlene rolled her eyes in complete disinterest. "I never was much of a science geek in school. I was a jock."

"How ironic." Dilan arched an eyebrow at her petite form, drawing a glare from the blond sitting across from him.

"I was captain of the archery team. I could hit a bull's-eye at three hundred yards." She drank down the rest of her drink, wrinkling her nose slightly.

"What, you don't like champagne?"

"No, I just wish they'd set out something stronger."

The dark-haired scientist grinned and reached into the pocket of his white lab coat, pulling out a small green bottle. "I figured I'd need this at some point to make it through tonight. Even gave it to me a few weeks ago for safekeeping from his little roommate Myde." Arlene grinned and eagerly held out her flute, which Dilan filled generously with the liquor in question. He drank down the rest of his champagne and filled his own glass, holding in up in a toast. "To surviving social occasions from Hell."

Arlene tapped the rim of her glass against his. "Here, here." They drank down the contents of their glasses. The archer blinked and shook her head at the sudden rush she felt as the alcohol took effect. "Wow, that stuff packs a real wallop."

Dilan nodded, his head already starting to cloud from the strong alcohol. He'd forgotten how long it'd been since he'd actually drunk the stuff. "Yes, it's quite strong."

"…Tasty though."

"Certainly."

There was a brief silence as Arlene held out her glass to be replenished. The two champagne flutes were quickly filled and emptied once again. A few minutes later the scientist and the archer were laughing like old friends. In the short time span, Arlene had moved into Dilan's lap and was idly toying with his curly dark hair.

"You-you know, you've got great hair…you should do something about the poof though." Arlene slurred as she pulled his hair free of the violet ribbon containing his wild hair. Dilan blinked at her, wondering how that horribly pitchy voice of hers had somehow become so bearable.

"…I'm going to kiss you." He said slowly, staring at her seriously and reaching up a large hand to touch her cheek. She scowled and slapped his hand away as if offended.

"Hey! If anyone's doin' any kissin' around here, Doctor Dilan, it's gonna be me!" An instant later her warm mouth, still tasting like the sweet liquor they'd been drinking, was planted firmly on his. Her hands were pressed against his chest to hold him still. Although surprised, Dilan's usually logical mind didn't protest to the new sensation and, once his brain registered that a very pretty woman was kissing him, returned the kiss as his hand rested on her lower back.

Through the glass door, a lone cell phone was snapping photograph after photograph of the couple. "Ohohoho…I told you, missy. _No one_ insults my flowers…"


	3. The Morning After

**_Small warning: This chapter contains some bad language and sexual themes. You've been warned, my loves!_**

* * *

When Dilan woke up the next morning he felt as if he'd been bludgeoned with an electron microscope. He sat up, his rumpled sheets falling to his waist. It was then he realized he was completely naked. Odd. He took a quick glance around the room. This was the bedroom in his small apartment; just a few blocks walk from the lab and the homes of the other five apprentices. The room mostly consisted of his large double bed, a nightstand with a reading lamp, and a large bookshelf filled with various titles, ranging from mysteries to scientific textbooks to contemporary literature.

His back ached something terrible though. The meteorologist reached around a lightly touched the back of his shoulder, grimacing at the string of fresh scratches there. Had he gotten into a fight with a bobcat during the night?

Glancing toward his bedroom door, Dilan realized he apparently had. Arlene Todd was standing in the doorway to his room, her dirty blond hair tousled and messy. The white-button up shirt he'd worn last night hung on her petite figure. The shirt was huge on her petite frame and the hem hung down almost to her knees. The collar scooped down her torso, the buttons undone almost to her naval. Upon seeing her like that the dark-haired apprentice felt a sudden arousal.

"Morning." She said casually, taking a sip of steaming black coffee from the mug in her hand.

And then, as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

"Good morning." He muttered, trying to figure out what exactly had happened last night. His mind was still clouded from sleep and the terrible hangover he was experiencing. He could vaguely remember Even's voice scolding him for getting drunk and offering to take him home and Myde clinging to Even's arm, fending off Arlene's drunken molestation attempts.

The blond made her way over to the bed, plopping down next to him. She crossed her legs casually and stared at him with thoughtful eyes. "There's coffee in the kitchen. Took me twenty minutes to figure out how to work your damn coffeemaker."

"It's tricky." Dilan agreed, leaning back against the headboard. "So I take it you and I…"

"Manhandled each other all night long? Yup." She smirked and took another sip from her mug. "And all I have to say is 'Aroooooo'."

Dilan arched an eyebrow. "…'Aroooooo'?"

She grinned at him, her green eyes sparkling wickedly. "Wolf man." She poked his broad chest, which had been thickly covered with dark hair since he'd hit puberty.

"Oh." He smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "Hm, I haven't been called that since high school."

"Really now?" Arlene set down her mug on the nightstand. "Tell me, how longs it been since you got laid?" Dilan frowned, slightly startled by her bluntness.

"Why in the world would I tell you something like that?"

"Because I asked." She purred as she reached out to stroke the side of his face, her fingertips brushing one of his sideburns. He shivered and narrowed his cobalt eyes at her. How in the world did women always know his one weak spot?

"…Senior prom."

The blond blinked and a smirk slowly crossed her face. "Seriously? That long? You're how old? Twenty four, twenty five?"

"…I'm twenty seven."

There was a brief silence before Arlene smirked. Then giggled. Soon she was roaring with laughter, falling on her back onto the bed. "AHAHA! Seriously?! Ten years and not one fuck?! HAHAHAHA!"

Dilan's face reddened and he gave her a light bump in the back with his knee. "And just how long has it been for you, _Miss Todd_?"

"Ooooh, touché." Arlene sat up, brushing her dirty blond hair from her eyes. She smiled sweetly and laid a finger against his lips. "A lady doesn't discuss her sexual conquests unless she's with her girlfriends."

"Funny." Dilan said dryly. "I don't see any ladies around here." The blond woman scowled and shoved his cheek with the palm, knocking him lightly back against the pillows.

"…Two years."

"You jest."

"…"

"…Really?" The apprentice was genuinely surprised. He'd figured a beautiful girl like Arlene would have men lining up at her doorstep. Of course, there was the fact she didn't act nearly as feminine as she looked. And her terrible temper, he'd seen what she did to Braig when he tried to 'help' her out the door and let his hands get a little too friendly. And just hearing that screechy voice would drive away even a deaf and dumb suitor. "On second thought, perhaps that's not too hard to imagine."

"Fuck you, weather boy."

Dilan laughed suddenly, his strong arms reaching out and pulling Arlene close to him. She made a slight sound of protest but stopped as his lips crushed against hers. She melted against him, her slender fingers entangling in his thick hair. They broke away after a long moment. Their breathing had become equally labored despite the briefness of the kiss.

"You know," Arlene muttered in his ear, her fingers moving from his hair to stroke his cheek. "I don't have to be at the boutique until this afternoon…"

"What a coincidence." Dilan's lips brushed her throat, his hands running up and down her back. "They don't need me at the lab until four."

"Mmm, so how should we kill time before then, huh?"

"Hmm…" Dilan rolled over on the large bed, his hands locking around Arlene's thin wrists as she lay beneath him. "How does a clear-headed encore of last night sound to you?"

Arlene grinned, her eyes taking on an impish shine. "I'm game." With a surprising amount of strength she shifted and somehow ended up on top of Dilan, her nails scratching down his chest. "Just try not to scream like a girl this time."

"Only if you don't talk."

"…Shut up and let's fuck already."

When Dilan finally made it to the lab (an hour and a half late thanks to the fact Arlene had refused to give him back his pants and that had led to a third bed romp) the other apprentices were already so deep into their the didn't notice his arrival at first. That is, until Braig walked into the room with a cup of coffee.

"Well, well, check out who finally showed up!" He laughed and walked over to the taller man, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "What took you so long? That feisty Todd girl keep you up late?"

"Braig, I'm not in the mood right now." Dilan grumbled and made his way toward his workstation, which was, unfortunately, right next to Braig's. The one-eyed scientist didn't let up.

"Dude, are you at least gonna see her again? She was a cutie if you can just tone out that voice-"

"That's his business, Braig, and no one else's." Even cut in, frowning. Braig ignored him and further pressed the meteorologist for information.

"C'mon, Dil! Tell us all the horny details! You're the first one of us to get laid since we started this project on the darkness of the heart! Well, besides Even."

The room was suddenly very quiet as Even slowly turned away from his work to give Braig the most venomous look he could muster. Ienzo looked up from his thick book, lifting his hand to push his long bangs off his face. "Uh-oh."

Aeleus rested a large hand on the boy's narrow shoulder. "Ienzo, perhaps we should take an ice cream break." Even's assistant looked up at the tall redhead and nodded. Silently, the two left the lab just as the yelling and throwing of objects began.

Meanwhile, at the boutique, Arlene wasn't having any more luck than Dilan.

"Lene!" Gabriel gushed the moment Arlene entered the Todd Boutique. She'd stopped at home to change into a comfortable pair of shoes along with a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of torn jeans, so needless to say she was more than a little late for work. "Sweetie, tell me everything that happened last night! I can't believe you managed to pick up that gorgeous guy with the hair! He's one of Ansem the Wise's apprentices right? You lucky bitch! What I wouldn't give for Christen to have blue eyes like that…"

Arlene sighed and rubbed her temples. Christen was Gabriel's latest hookup. He was from Tranverse Town, drop dead gorgeous and dumber than a blind deaf mute. She sometimes wished her brother would raise his standards.

Genevieve, on the other hand, didn't seem as pleased. "Arlene, Mom was worried sick about you last night! Why didn't you call? The least you could've done was told one of us you were going home with that Rosenburg guy before you left!" The blond growled and glared up at her sister/boss as she sat down at her usual seat behind the register.

"How do you know I went home with him? I could've just as easily gone to Trish's to spend the night." Arlene calmly reached into the register and pulled out a stick of sugar free gum from the pack that Genevieve always kept there. She pulled off the wrapper and popped the gum into her mouth, chewing noisily. Trisha, one of her archery students, would easily cover for her for the simple reason of being terrified of her teacher.

"True…but these say otherwise." Genevieve indignantly tosses a handful of photographs into her sister's lap. Arlene frowned and picked them up. They were photographs of her and Dilan at the party, laughing and flirting drunkenly. The last few were of the two of them on the patio, pawing at each other like animals in heat. "That flower guy was passing them out at the flower shop like free samples this morning."

Blood rushed to Arlene's face but not from embarrassment. Her small hands trembled as she crushed the pictures in her fists.

"That bitch Lumaria…" Her eyes flashed as she jumped up from her chair, storming toward the exit with murder written all over her face. As she slammed the door shut behind her, her last screaming words echoed through the store.

"I'M GOING TO DISEMBOWL THAT FLOWERY FAG WITH HIS OWN PRUNING SHEARS!"


	4. I See No Exploding Zombies

**_I've decided 'Moulin Rouge' is Xaldin/Dilan's favorite movie. And this chapter was born. c:_**

* * *

"…Dilan."

"…Yes, Arlene?"

"…I see no exploding zombies in this movie."

"…I know."

The archer and the apprentice sat stiffly in their seats in the small movie theater filled with other couples, watching as the opening credits rolled on the large screen. The movie playing was a new romantic musical and, judging from the trailers and critical acclaim, it was the perfect chick flick/date movie.

It was also the one movie Dilan ad Arlene had been dead set _against_ seeing. In the two months since they'd met, they'd gone on only three public dates. The first had been a walk through the woods and Dilan had ended up with a poison ivy rash in a very discrete place and Arlene had a tick attached to her inner thigh for two days. The second had been a trip to the beach and Arlene had ended up stepping on a jellyfish and had to be rushed to the hospital, cursing all marine life the entire ambulance ride. This would be their third and so far it was fairly about as well as the last two. If this time didn't work, they'd agreed, they'd just stick to private dinners and sex with the occasional outing with the apprentices and Arlene's siblings.

"This is gonna _suck_." Arlene muttered under her breath before popping a kernel of salty, buttery popcorn into her mouth. Dilan sipped his lemon lime soda in silent agreement. The film they'd intended to see was a new big budget, action-packed, blood-and-guts-flying-everywhere-oh-my-god-is-that-Billy's-liver-on-that-tree-branch zombie movie. But by some twist of fate the half-blind teenager working the ticket booth got their tickets mixed up the elderly couple waiting beside them. Arlene smirked a little, wondering how the couple was fairing with the movie.

The movie progressed fairly quickly and the couple couldn't help but find themselves cracking up at the cheesiness of the first few scenes.

"Is…is that a midget on a miniature pony?" Arlene snorted, cackling loudly. There was chorus of shushes behind them. Dilan turned around irritably and snapped at them to shush up, some people were trying to watch the damn movie. For that he got many dirty looks and a kiss on the cheek from his date.

However, once the plot got going and the songs got more serious, the blonde couldn't help but become fascinated by the relationship of the two main characters. They were just so…_cute_ and believable. And the villain vying for the female lead's affections was such a downright bastard one couldn't help but cheer for the couple.

"What a bastard." Dilan muttered as he watched the aristocratic man on the screen grin in triumph as the heroine was forced to tell her lover that she didn't love him in order to save his life.

The film's climax came at the ending, when the lovers were reunited and it truly seemed they would have a happily ever after. Arlene could feel tears welling in her eyes as the hero cradled his dying love in his arms, letting hoarse, choked sobs escape from his throat. "I…I'm going to get more popcorn." She sniffed, grabbing the still half-full bag and jumping up from her seat and out the door before Dilan could protest.

The dark-haired meteorologist entered the lobby a few minutes later, followed by the rest of the audience, many of them sobbing over the tragic ending of such a beautiful love story. Arlene was standing near the concession stand, having quickly wiped away her tears and was now mowing down on the remaining popcorn.

"Ready to go home?" He didn't bother asking her why she'd left. The slight, knowing smirk on his handsome face was enough to tell her he knew she'd cried.

"Not yet." Arlene glanced out the glass doors. "It's still pretty early. Let's go for a walk in the park." Before he could protest she took his hand and all but dragged his large frame outside.

It was a clear early summer night. The sky was the color of navy velvet, dotted with stars that shimmered like bits of glitter. The couple walked side by side in silence until they reached the small park in the center of Radiant Garden. Except for a few squirrels darting here and there, they were alone.

The petite woman looked up at the apprentice. "The movie actually wasn't that bad, was it?"

"Surprisingly, no." Dilan agreed, reaching into the bag of leftover popcorn to pull out a handful and eat a few kernels. "But those songs are so damn catchy. They refuse to leave my head." He glanced down at her, a slight smile playing across his face. "You know…"

"What?" Arlene adjusted the collar of her faded denim jacket, not looking up at the apprentice.

"Love is a many splendored thing." He said matter-of-factly, continuing to walk beside Arlene. "Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love."

Her head shot up to glare at him. "Dilan Rosenburg, don't you dare."

His grin widened as his voice softened to almost a croon. "All you need is love."

"Shut up!"

"All you need is love!"

"I'm seriously warning you, Dilan!"

"All you need is loooooove!"

"Love is just a game!" Arlene barked angrily then realized she was playing right into his little game. She scowled bitterly at him. "I hate you."

With a smug smirk, the meteorologist grabbed her small hand and spun her with flourish and dipped her low to the ground, causing her to drop the bag of leftover popcorn onto the sidewalk. "But I was made for loving you baby; you were made for loving me."

Arching an eyebrow, she shoved him away and straightened her posture indignantly. "The only way of loving me, baby, is to pay a lovely fee." She smiled sweetly and held out her hand as if expecting payment.

Dilan's arm wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close. "Just one night,  
give me just one night."

Arlene shoved him away again. "There's no way, 'cause you can't pay." They kept up their little game of cat and mouse, their tone-deaf singing voices and laughter ringing through the still night air. Dilan finally caught up to her, locking his strong arms around her waist.

"We could be heroes, forever and ever!" The two of them laughed and kissed in front of the gazebo sitting in the center of the park. At that exact moment the sky decided to open up a dump a couple dozen of gallons of water on Radiant Garden. Their kiss broke and Arlene screeched with laughter. The pair raced into the gazebo, soaked to the bone after only a few seconds, but laughing like they hadn't in ages.

The short blond turned and smiled up at her lover, looking unusually soft and feminine with her hair flattened against her scalp. She reached up and cupped Dilan's face in her hands, her blue/green irises locking with indigo. Her thumbs gently brushed his sideburns and he shivered, lighting resting his hands on her hips. Arlene stood up carefully on her toes as he bent down to rest his forehead against hers, smiling softly.

She sang again, her voice the same soft, whispery tone she used to coax him to bed at night. "How wonderful life is…now you're in the world…" A moment later their lips connected again in a deep, sensual kiss.

"Oh, what a _sweet _moment!"

The pair froze and quickly tore away from each other, staring in utter horror at the all too familiar florist standing outside the gazebo. Lumaria was standing under a white umbrella decorated with twisting green vines. His coat was warm-looking wool colored magenta and tied at his narrow waist. His layered light brown hair was loose and poofed around his head. Fixed on his face was the grin of the town gossip that had just gotten the biggest piece of gossip of the summer.

The lab went very quiet when Dilan came in the next morning. After the scare with Lumaria (Arlene had frightened the botanist away with threats against his precious orchids), they'd gone back to his apartment and had had quite a pleasant night together, though neither of them mentioned the whole 'singing sappy love songs' incident. They had a silent agreement that it had never happened.

The meteorologist moved to his workplace, mildly curious as to why the others were being so quiet but he shrugged it off until he heard someone (who sounded suspiciously like Even) whisper the words, "All you need is love..." He turned around suddenly, eyeing everyone in the room.

"All you need is love." Dilan turned sharply to Ienzo, who only stared at him innocently with his one visible eye.

"All you need is love." Aeleus crooned in his deep voice, chuckling softly.

"Love is just a game!" Braig chirped in a high falsetto he must've thought passed for feminine.

Dilan narrowed his eyes as all four of his friends, Even included, burst into singing a song from the movie the previous night. In the next room, he could hear Ansem's booming laughter and Xehnort's soft chuckling.

"In the name of love! One night in the name of love!"

Dilan's eyes narrowed and he slowly sunk into his chair, slapping his palm to his face. "Very mature, everyone." In the pocket of his lab coat, his cell phone vibrated against his hip. Dilan snatched it up and flipped it open, barking, "What?!"

"Dilan." Arlene's voice was flat on her end. In the background he could hear Genevieve and Gabriel singing in horribly off-key tones and cackling.

"…Yes, Arlene?"

"…I hate our friends."

"Me too, love, me too."


End file.
